Thursday, November 26, 2015

ROCK SCRAMBLING WITH MY BEST PAL AND OUR HOUSE DECISION HAS FINALLY BEEN MADE…..

ROCK SCRAMBLING WITH MY BEST PAL THIS MORNING

With our 2 day cloud cover finally beginning to break up & giving way to warming sun splashes skipping their way across our cooler landscape I decided it was time to get myself outside the house again. Planted 2 more cactus then fired up the Jeep.

Pheebs & I didn’t go far this morning with just a short drive of maybe a mile down to the end of Ghost Town Road. This is an area where a few folks boondock temporarily & a few others call home for the winter. Only saw 3 rigs scattered widely about amidst the Mesquite trees, Creosote bushes & Palo Verde trees.

This area is also the former town site of 1885’s Congress Arizona. Only thing left is a couple old Pioneer Cemeteries & pieces of broken pottery & glass which are scattered around on the desert floor. Where we drove & walked this morning was once a bustling town with stores, cabins, shops, streets, mining offices, a hospital, eateries, saloons, a school & 2 churches. Had Pheebs I been walking here 130 years ago we would have been meeting people & horses on the streets. Folks would have been busy bustling about their business. Pheebs & I could have probably popped into one of the eateries for a big mess of bacon & eggs. It was a mining town of course with the large Congress Gold Mine less than half a mile away. All of Congress’s inhabitants would have had something to do with that mine one way or another. I’m sure all the towns men covered many miles walking to & from that mine each & every working day which was likely 7 days a week in those days. Only one road led into the mine & that is the road our house & property are located on. An elderly neighbor said the old miner who built our house in the 1950’s built it with lumber he hauled home from the partially abandoned Gold Mine. Of course rumor has it that he hid all his gold in this house too……………..We’re still lookin:))

THE ORIGINAL MINING TOWN OF CONGRESS ONCE STOOD OUT THERE WHERE ALL THOSE CREOSOTE BUSHES NOW GROW

One of the old cemeteries is still in use so a graded road is kept open to that location. Off that graded road are Jeep roads leading off out into the desert. It is off these hard packed sand & gravely roads boondockers have carved themselves out their own sites on flat pieces of the desert floor. We parked just off one of these Jeep roads & walked up a narrower ATV trail to a jumble of rocks at the base of what would be called a mountain back in Ontario but what we call here just a big darn bunch of rocky hills dotted with Saguaro Cactus.

It was very cool this morning so I wasn’t too concerned about Rattlesnakes but one is always cautious about them anyway just in case even though they should all be into hibernation by now. We did manage ourselves a nice rock scramble & I’m always amazed at how well Pheebs does in scrambling up & over the large rocks a boulders as well. I’m thinking she must have some Mountain Goat in her.

We were back home before 11 & I could smell Turkey in the oven. Well not a whole Turkey but what is called a Turkey breast which is always lots for us. We both like Turkey & generally have it 3 times a year. Canadian Thanksgiving, the American Thanksgiving & of course Christmas. Sure is a nice change from peanut butter & honey sandwiches:))

MORE OF A BIG ROCKY HILL THAN A MOUNTAIN

Of course there is just Kelly, myself, & Pheebs here & that is how we like to spend our Thanksgiving days. We’ve both done the large family & public gatherings over the years & not having to do that anymore suits us just fine. We also feel the same way about Christmas.

Called Aunt Jean in Sarasota Wednesday night & she’s been keeping herself busy. Jean & her golfing pals tried out a different golf course earlier this week & with the grounds being not as hilly as their usual course she was able to play a full 18 holes. She is finding it frustrating though not being able to get outside to do her own grounds work anymore. With some heart, lung, & spine problems increasingly restricting her physical movements now it sure hasn’t dampened her Spirits & independence. Aunt Jean’s 88 year old mind is still sharp but it just can’t coax her body into doing all the things she used to do & would still like to do. And do them all on her own…………….

It’s not quite the end of the month yet but our hard thought out house decision has finally been made. Kelly contacted a local Realtor earlier in the week & the lady is coming in early December to give us an appraisal on our house & property……….but we’re not selling it:)) We have decided to wait another year & re-assess our house decision again at that time. We did feel it important to make contact with a Real Estate company though just in case there came a time if something happened to one or both of us & we couldn’t get back to Congress for whatever reason. When one reaches our age these are things that have to be carefully thought about & planned for just in case. Gone are those crazy free wheeling & wildly sometimes reckless thought processes of yesteryear. Darn, I do miss those days though. We will probably take back to Canada a lot of our personal items this coming Spring & anything else we treasure & want to keep………………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man arrives at the gates of heaven. St. Peter asks, "Religion?" The man says, "Methodist." St. Peter looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "Religion?" "Baptist." "Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." A third man arrives at the gates. "Religion?" "Jewish." "Go to room 11, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." The man says, "I can understand there being different rooms for different religions, but why must I be quiet when I pass room 8?" St. Peter tells him, "Well the Jehovah's Witnesses are in room 8, and they think they're the only ones here.

I was holding my breath the whole time, looking to see what the decision was. YES!! Big sigh of relief. I do hear you about not knowing what might lie ahead. All the same, I sure do like thinking you have that house to shelter in when you are in the U.S.

Well I started reading your blog where you are now, last year...traveled back to the park, surrounded by trees (not cactus ) with you guys...now you are back....from my perspective the time seemed to fly by...so I am glad you are postponing your decision...I don't want to see footsteps in the snow...LOL..stay safe & happy and thanks for sharing your decision. ..lesalp.blogspot.com.au

Glad you are easing into the decision of selling… leaving that "back door" unlocked. If you are lucky in realm of health, selling could be years away. But I suppose you can always downsize into your Rv every winter, a "win win." Box Canyon Mark

It's always a big sigh of relief when a big decision has been reached. No reason to rush into selling, but it is nice to know what your property may bring. We had our house appraised due to a home equity line of credit we wanted to have...just in case...

That sounds like a reasonable thing to do, Al. LOVE all the rocks! It is snowing up in our local mountains today and I may take a ride up there later and hopefully have some snow photos to post tomorrow!~Cheryl Ann~

I think it makes a lot of sense to have plans in place for the coming year. Then you can relax and enjoy everything while you're there, and know you have some time to decide how and when you will sell your place in AZ.